This invention relates generally to a method of making a stone veneer product. More particularly, the present invention relates to a stone veneer furniture structure of a naturally-occurring stone material formed of a plurality of stone tiles made into planar panels and joined to form a hollow structure, into which a foamed core may be inserted for increased structural integrity.
It has long been known to use materials such as marble, granite or other naturally-occurring stone materials for architectural and furniture purposes. Many such materials have been used for structural purposes because of their beauty, permanence, compression strength and wear resistance. Other materials, such as marble, have also been used for decorative purposes because they can be polished to a very high finish and because such materials occur in many different colors with many different patterns from naturally occurring random veining. A principal drawback to using naturally-occurring stone materials for furniture has been the weight of the slabs used to make the furniture, breakage and limits of design.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a product and method for producing the product which provides a surface of marble, natural stone material, or a synthetically made composite stone material, which may be made into a plurality of co-planar panels, the panels being joined to form a hollow core furniture structure, such as a table, desk, bench, or other furniture structure.
It is also desirable to provide a method for producing stone veneer products carried out using standard stone working material such as bridge saws, gang saws, grinders, polishers, chip hammers, etc. It is also desirable to provide a method of joining relatively thin stone tiles in an end-to-end and side-to-side butt-joined fashion to produce the planar panels which may, in turn, be worked into shapes necessary to form the desired furniture product with the a desired combination of color and veining patterns.
Finally, it has been found desirable to reinforce the structural integrity of a hollow veneered stone furniture structure by injecting a foam material into the finished hollow structure. Internal buttressing of the planar members may be used as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
Prusinski, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,232,017, issued Feb. 1, 1966, discloses an insulated structural panel having a foam core underlying an ornamental facing which consists of a particulate material. The panel employs pre-formed foam blocks used as an adhered backing for the facing. A second layer of a resin, having a mineral particulate filler, is poured over the foam blocks to complete the panel structure.
La Padura, U.S. Pat. No 3,512,327, issued May 19, 1970, discloses a structural body having a lightweight core. This patent is directed principally to the method of making a structural body from a particulate material and using a porous plastic material, such as a foamed core to form a lightweight structure. The structural components are not, however, completely assembled until after the foamed core material is in place on one side of the structure shell.
Bourke, U.S. Pat. No. 3,723,233, issued Mar. 27, 1973, discloses a marble-faced wall panel having a honeycomb backing onto which a marble veneer is attached. The honeycomb backing is a structural support for a marble tile or panel, but requires a resin adhesive for affixing the honeycomb backing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,180, issued Feb. 27, 1972, discloses a method for forming a foam cored wall panel having a ceramic tile facing. This patent discloses a process whereby tiles are adhered to an underlying fiber layer and reinforced with a polyester resin to contact the side of the tiles and an underlying foamed core.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,984,957, issued Oct. 12, 1976, discloses a composite building module which consists generally of a fiber reinforced cement piece having a foam core interdisposed between the fiber reinforced cement piece and an opposing cement cap piece. This patent is principally directed to providing lightweight monolithic building modules having approved insulating and vapor barrier properties.
U.S. Pat. No 3,950,202, issued Apr. 14, 1976, discloses a method of making a composite natural stone veneer product using honeycomb support backings for large structural panels. While this patent contemplates that the invention can be used to produce furniture for structural uses such as desks, tabletops, benches, billiard tabletops, vanities, stair treads, doors, shelves, etc., there is no disclosure relating to forming a three-dimensional structure with a hollow cavity and injecting a foam support layer without the use of adhesives to bind the stone facing onto the underlying support matrix.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,702, issued Jul. 24, 1990, discloses a prefabricated wall panel which consists of two layers of cement corresponding to internal and external walls of the panel and having an insulating material inserted between the internal and external walls of the panel during manufacturing. The panels require numerous nut and bolt connectors to join the panels in adjoining fashion.
Each of the foregoing patents relate generally to the use of a foam core or a composite honeycomb core structure as a backing for a stone veneer. None of these patents, however, illustrate that a plurality of small stone tiles may be butt-joined in end-to-end and side-to-side fashion in a manner to form planar tile structures, which may, in turn, be worked into panels needed to form the ultimate furniture structure. None of the foregoing patents disclose a method whereby a hollow furniture structure is formed and then injected with a foam core to substantially fill the hollow cavity formed by the joined panels to impart strength, shipping facility and sound deadening to the finished furniture piece.